ABOUT THE ARTIST

Taqwa Alnaqbi was born in 1994 in Khorfakkan, United Arab Emirates.
Alnaqbi completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts at College of Fine Arts and Design in University Of Sharjah in 2016. She finished the Salama Emerging Artists Fellowship in 2018.
She works mostly with projects that incorporate handmade papers and mixed media. Her work is inspired by personal experiences that came from her surroundings, which she savours and celebrates through her art.

She has exhibited her artworks internationally and regionally including; 35th Annual Exhibition for the Emirates Fine Arts Society at the Sharjah Art Museum, the Transition Exhibition with Reconnecting Art at the Menier Gallery in London; Is Old Gold? Exhibition with DUCTAC in Dubai and Art Nomad and Made in the Emirates Exhibition in Berlin.

INSPIRATION FROM THE COLLECTION:

Quran commissioned by Sultan Abdullah II Al Saadi
Morocco, Fez
1616
Ink and gold on paper
Louvre Abu Dhabi

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

“لكم دينكم ولي دين”
The artwork is inspired from a manuscript at the Louvre Abu Dhabi in the Universal Religions Chapter in the museum, a Holy Quran that had been commissioned by Abdullah II Al Sa’adi, from Morocco. The paper I made contains a verse from the Quran that says “لكم دينكم ولي دين” meaning, “you have your religion and I have my religion” which I believe encapsulates the message of religious tolerance that the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the UAE embodies and reflects.

My work reflects my love of making handmade papers and experimenting and implementing its different techniques; with this artwork in particular I used the watermark technique. I wanted to hide the verse “لكم دينكم ولي دين” and use it as a hidden message so that it can only appear under the light, to reflect how this value should be within us and expressed in our daily lives and interactions with others.